Sunday, January 6, 2013

Ivy Bakery - Pie Crust Class

Many of my readers know that one of my favorite places to grab dessert is Ivy Bakery, on Houston Street, here in Manhattan. I travel there frequently for my favorite pecan pie, or to grab some cookies, or cup cakes. Cory, my son, loves many of the other delicious pastries created here, by owner Daniellan Louie.

A couple of weeks ago, Cory and I, were lucky enough to attend one of Daniellan's group classes. She is known for making great tasting desserts, and often teaches private classes, at her bakery, but she has decided to start some group classes. The one we attended, was on making pie crusts!

The first pic shows some of the ingredients we start with. We learned how to make 3
pie crusts, using butter, or shortening, and oreo cookies. The next picture shows Cory trying to use some of the specialized tools to mix in the flour and the butter.
Daniellan is a terrific teacher, very patient, very encouraging and detailed.

I believe that what makes Daniellan's teaching unique and special is the ease with which she shares tips and stories of how she has learned things and how she does things in the bakery. When Cory was a bit too thin, rolling out the dough for the crust, Daniellan very calmly gave hints as to how to salvage and make what seemed like a lost crust into a very viable and usable crust. Her explanations are very concise and well thought out.

Cory and I had a really terrific, fun time learning at Daniellan's class, held in Ivy Bakery. The final pic shows Cory and Daniellan with their completed pie crusts. It was a very successful event! More classes are planned at Ivy Bakery, and I highly recommend anyone interested in baked goods to check out Daniellan's creations. I'm awfully happy I did, and Cory and I are fans of Ivy Bakery!

Last week, Cory took his pie crust skills over to his friend's house, and they spent the afternoon making different pies. We are very grateful that such a talented chef is willing to share with us.